By
·
Curly Freedom
Decades of battling unruly hair
taming those curls into straight, shiny strands
until the day I announced that it won.
“I give up.” I declared. “Do as you wish.”
Know what I learned from my final retreat?
Sure, the curls go every which way, but
God made my wild hair, so it must be fine,
and I have more time without the fussing.
Most of all, I am naturally free.
©Mary K. Doyle, 2026
Tags:
Natural is freeing
It sure is, Melinda. We don’t learn that until it’s much later in life.
Livre e muito linda!
Abraço grande!
Obrigada, querido Gustavo.
Un análisis muy constructivo y claro sobre Curly Freedom. Destaca aspectos clave esenciales para entender el tema con profundidad.
Obrigada, Filosofia y Arte, por dedicar seu tempo para comentar!
Your hair is beautiful! Lots would kill to have that curl!
And how I hated it most of my life, Vero. We learn so late to let it go. Hugs to you.
I have heard this countless time from other curly-haired girls!
Looks great Mary. Sometimes it is best just to let your hair do its thing, which in my case was to leave. Have a great day. Allan
Ah, but I know women who adore bald men, Allan. 🙂
You look great Mary!!
Thanks, Maggi. It’s more of a matter of letting things be as they are than beauty at this point.
Oh, wow! I love your hair, Mary!!! I love listening to your poems read by you 🙂
Thank you, Ilze. I appreciate your kind words.
Wow! Mary you look so pretty. Don’t worry about the curls. They suit you.
Thank you, sweet Geeta.
What a wonderful little poem about freedom, acceptance, and finally making peace with those beautiful curls! 😊 I love the moment when you simply say, “I give up” and discover that giving up the battle is actually an act of liberation. Sometimes we spend so much energy trying to tame what makes us uniquely ourselves. I especially loved the ending—“I am naturally free.” A beautiful reminder that being ourselves can be the most effortless kind of freedom.
Exactly, Vijay. You always know how to summarize the goal of my poems. Thank you so much, my friend.
Lovely curls, Mary. I have a festish for long hair myself, which is why mine has been left to grow in length since high-school…around 45 years now.
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful words, Lenny. I’m sure you look great, and always have been, with long hair.
I love your wild hair! It reminds me of mine. I let mine go wild during covid, haven’t touched the hairdryer and all those accessories since, and I’ve added years to my life! Bravo!!!! 👏🏻
Thank you for the encouragement, Dorothy. I like being like you. 🙂
Kindred souls, with crazy hair and that’s ok! I got mine from my grandmother!
Do you have photos or remember how your grandmother styled her hair? Unique and beautiful, like Grandma.
She mostly just tied it back in an attempt to tame it! Check her out here, bottom of post: https://vintagekitchen.org/2023/12/23/tourtiere-a-traditional-french-canadian-meat-pie/
Surrendering the daily battle with styling tools to discover that ‘giving up’ is actually an act of liberation is such a wonderful revelation! As vermavkv and Dorothy’s New Vintage Kitchen noted in the comments, reclaiming that time and stepping into being ‘naturally free’ is the ultimate win. Beautiful poem, Mary!
Thank you for all of that! I appreciate you taking the time to voice your thoughts.
My pleasure, Mary! Always enjoy connecting over your writing.
I love your natural curls! I’d give anything to have some body in my hair like that!
🙂 We all want what we don’t have, especially when it comes to our hair, don’t we, CJ?
So true Mary!
Beautiful curls, Mary. ❤️
Thank you, T!
Thank you for sharing this gem, Mary.
‘God made my wild hair, so it must be fine’ is a magnificent line.
God is the master designer. Thank you, Luisa, my dear.
My sincere pleasure, dearest Mary💖💞💕
Love this, Mary 🙂 It took me years to finally accept and see the beauty in my curls.
Ah, a fellow curly girl. I knew there were many reasons to like you, Rosaliene.
😀
This is a cool poem Mary and the hair, I love the curls, it’s part of who you are.
Thank you, Ernie. I appreciate you accepting me as is! 🙂
Wouldn’t want it any other way.
🙂
I think your hair looks beautiful.
Thanks so much, Lynette. It is a free for all if you so it in person.
I love the way your curls cascade down to your shoulders, Mary. God blessed you with gorgeous hair! 🙂
Ah, shucks, Nancy. Love to you, my friend.
As a curlyhead myself, I love this! I fought with my curls for years. Then I decided to embrace them and I’ve never looked back!
Good for you, Michelle! Curly Girls United! Thank you for adding your voice here.
Looking good, Mary. Natural is always the best.
Thanks so much, dear Michael.
You’re most welcome.
You have nice hair
Thank you, Joanne.
🤗😁🥰
Love to you, Nancy.
Beautiful!
Thank you, Jean.
glorious
Thank you, John.
I am so jealous! Your curls are beautiful, just like you! Meanwhile, my hair needs an entire community to get it to curl!
And I always wanted straight hair, Mary. Curly hair never looks shiny.
Great decision. We waste too much time on trying to be someone else! 🙂
This is true, Ronit. Thank you, my friend.
Beautiful!
Thanks so much, Phil.
I love your curly hair, Mary and your smile. It made me smile, too. I wear my original hair, too, and even if Kuya keeps encouraging me to do a salon, no! I want it this way. This is the real me. Lovely poem.
I love the real you, Hazel. Sweet as ever.
You’re so kind, Mary. Thank you.
So, the hair was never the problem, ma’am. Perhaps, the exhausting need to control it was.
Yes, sometimes, we call it surrender when it is actually freedom.
You are right, my friend. Why fight with it? Thank you for reading and your thoughtful comment.
your hair is lovely and your smile is gorgeous!
Ah, thank you.
I love this! Sometimes letting go is the best kind of freedom. 😊
I’m finally learning, Angela. Thank you!
It’s never late…. I’m on the middle of this process as well🙂 Not easy…
And, it looks ever so good, Mary!
Thank you, Big Jim. 🙂
Mary! You — and your fabulous curls — are gorgeous! I’m gonna take your encouragement…talk to my hair with a ‘do as you wish’. I love it! 💝
Hahaha. As the little girls all sing, Vicki, “Let it go, let it go.” Why do we women make everything so difficult for ourselves?
Good grief, yes! Let it go! 🤪❤️🤪
And I wish I knew…but we sure are hard on ourselves. Loved your post and photos! 😉❤️😉
Beautiful!! You have such a lovely smile :DD
Thank you, Lina. That’s very sweet of you to say.
Curly hair is the best! Mine has too many textures to let it go completely curly, but I wish I could. You’re so lovely, Mary!
Ah, thank you, my friend.
I love it and your hair is awesome, Mary. We always want what we don’t have right. Straight, wavy hair turning silver but I don’t care but I still add that bottle blonde so slow it down.. lol xxxx
Me too, Cindy. Baby steps. 🙂
I hear ya… most definitely! xx
The curls suit you so well and you have such thick, gorgeous hair- curly hair is definitely perfect for you.
Thank you, Pooja. It’s a weird time of life for me not knowing what is age-appropriate.
You’re most welcome. I totally understand that but I think the curls still look mature and classy while being natural and pretty.
Awesome, Mary!
Thank you, my friend.
You’re very welcome! 🤗
Your hair looks gorgeous, Mary – love it! Mine is totally straight and does not even hold a clip! Well done for keeping it natural. 👏
Thank you, Flavia. I guess we all want what we don’t have. Or, at least the ability for our hair to do what we want occasionally.
So true, Mary. 😄
Mary, I have curly hair too & I have always disliked poker straight hair. Curly hair has way more personality (& a mind of their own sometimes)! So i speak very honestly when I say that your hair looks fabulous!!! 😊
Thank you. I appreciate the voice of another curly girl. Congratulations on always knowing what was best for you, Mia.
You are welcome, Mary.
That is indeed a very nice compliment that I would remember. Thank you! 😊
Looks beautiful, Mary!
Thank you, Dawn.
Love it! Embrace the curls, they are beautiful. 🩷
Thank you, sweet Michele. You inspired me when you went natural.
o what a gorgeous head of hair ; I’ve never had that problem: unruly hair 😦
Hahaha. Just like you, John 🙂
Beautiful hair, Mary! Embrace the freedom!
Thank you!
Your hair has always complimented you. Bounce and style
Thank you, Mr. Max. You are kind.
all the best to you
you look lovely, Mary …and your hair – its stunning. 🤍
(for the longest of time i tried to ‘tame’ my daughters hair 🥴 until now – i let her be and she looks so so good …its same like yours)
Thank you, Destiny. That’s interesting. My mother tried to tame my hair too! I appreciate you!
same here, Mary …🤍🤗
Beautiful!
Thank you.
Grass is always greener. I think your curly locks look gorgeous.
That’s true, Rebecca. We think, maybe if we had “her” hair, we’d look better.
I have this discussion with curly haired friends every year! : )
That is one gorgeous head of hair! Good choice to embrace it!
Oh, thank you, Lori! You are so kind.
I love curly hair!! I’m glad you’re embracing yours—it’s gorgeous!!
Thank you, Katie. I always wanted straight, shiny hair, or maybe red. LOL. Oh, my!
Love it! I always wanted curly hair and used to suffer through perms to get it. Your hair looks gorgeous and I am a bit envious. 😀
LOL, Deb! I’d be envious of your hair, not doubt! Thank you for commenting.
I love your self-acceptance and the way you share your feelings about yourself here, Mary! My hair is thick and unruly; I had to cut it short to keep it under control, so well done for keeping yours in such lovely condition! 🦋🦋
I’m sure your hair is wonderful and fun, Ada. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Gorgeous! I do love the curls, always have. I remember my sister spending hours curling her hair and it never looked as good as yours naturally (lol). Now that poem with unruly hair, I can relate. Viva la curly freedom! Beautiful ~ ❤
Are you a curly girl, Lady Siri? I surely hope so!
Wavy! But I want curls! Adds volume and it’s always stylish, plus straight irons are medieval (lol). Honestly though you look so good and you wear it well!
Thank you, Siri. I’m sure you rock your wavy hair!
Talk to me. I’m curious about your thoughts and comments.